[N_Fiddledog]

Wow. Who saw that coming? I was already clicked into 'maybe next year' mode.

Then the team we saw earlier in the year showed up again.

[Hyack]

Baertschi's PP goal at 4:07 into the 3rd was all it took to give the Canucks a 3-2 win over the LA Kings! Starting the 2nd period was one of the most exciting 40 minutes of hockey of this season, I nearly had to walk away with 5 minutes left to play in the 3rd! The Kings pummeled Nilsson with 15 shots on goal in the 3rd, 32 shots for the game, he turned every one of them aside. Tonight's win evened out this 4 game road trip 2-2-0. Thursday is the start of a short 2 game home stand when the newest team in the league comes to town. The Las Vegas Golden Knights play on Thursday followed by the St Louis Blues on Saturday. The Canucks then start a 6 game road trip in Philadelphia on the 21st.

[Hyack]

Canucks come from behind to defeat 3rd place LA Kings

[Hyack]

Las Vegas at Vancouver

19

Knights (10-6-1) at Canucks (9-7-2)


Goalie Maxime Lagace will start for the Vegas Golden Knights against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Thursday.

Lagace left midway through the third period of an 8-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday with what he called lower-body soreness after giving up seven goals on 29 shots. Dylan Ferguson, 19, made his NHL debut in relief, becoming the fifth Golden Knights goaltender to play this season.

Vegas started the season 8-1-0 but is 2-5-1 in its past eight games with Lagace, who has an .860 save percentage.

Goalie Jacob Markstrom will start for the Canucks after Anders Nilsson make 30 saves in a 3-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday that ended a two-game losing streak.

Golden Knights forward David Perron has seven points (goal, six assists) during a five-game point streak.

Canucks forward Bo Horvat has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past six games. He scored a power-play goal after being moved up to the first unit against the Kings

Theodore will play after being a healthy scratch for three games. … Subban practiced Wednesday for the first time since he was injured Oct. 21 and said he is close to returning. … Sbisa will miss his second straight game and is not with Vegas on its two-game road trip. ... Stecher, who was injured Oct. 21, has resumed skating on his own and will practice by the weekend.

The Oilers scored on all three power-play chances against the Golden Knights' 26th-ranked penalty kill (77.2 percent). … The Canucks ended a 2-for-21 power-play slump against the Kings.

Game time 7:00pm PT

[N_Fiddledog]

This is the one I've been most curious about.

There's a way to look at it where both Las Vegas and Vancouver are starting from scratch this year, so who's doing the better job?

Well, maybe Vancouver is not exactly at scratch in this rebuild, but it is a newer team from the old one.

[Strutz]

Damn! Too bad. I thought it was rather risky to pull our goalie with 2.5 min left and sure enough that risk backfired on them.


On a side note I hope the fan that got nailed with the puck with a minute left in the 2nd period is ok. It looked like a really bad scene there judging by the young fellow's reaction who was right there. You could see several people rushing to assist and a couple of people throwing towels (I think?) towards where the injured fan was. Good of the ref to stop the 2nd period at that point and that everyone was in agreement.

[Hyack]

Boeser scored at 12:31 and Horvat at 17:18 of the 2nd period in a losing cause. Las Vegas Knights scored 5 times to defeat the Canucks 5-2, their 3rd loss in their last 5 starts. This short home stand ends Saturday with the St Louis Blues in town.

[Hyack]

St Louis at Vancouver

20

Blues (14-5-1) at Canucks (9-8-2)

Goaltender Anders Nilsson will start for the Vancouver Canucks against the Western Conference-leading St. Louis Blues at Rogers Arena on Saturday.

Nilsson is 4-1-0 with a .942 save percentage and has won his past three starts. He missed three games Nov. 6-9 for the birth of his child and has played once in Vancouver's past nine games. He made 30 saves in a 3-2 win at the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

St. Louis called up center Wade Megan from the American Hockey League after Oskar Sundqvist blocked a couple of hard shots during a 4-1 win at the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday; however, Sundqvist skated Saturday morning and expects to play. The Blues have lost two of their past three games after starting the season 13-3-1.

St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn has four goals and 10 assists during a six-game point streak and is tied with linemate Jaden Schwartz for the scoring lead on the Blues with 25 points.

Canucks rookie right wing Brock Boeser has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past seven games and leads Vancouver with 16 points.

Bouwmeester and Berglund have practiced during the Blues' three-game Western Canada trip and will be re-evaluated when they get back to St. Louis. … Tanev and Stecher skated Saturday and will join the Canucks for a six-game road trip that starts Tuesday. Virtanen returns to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for three games.

St. Louis leads the NHL with 19 goals from its defensemen. … Vancouver has three goals from its defensemen; two were scored by Tanev, who hasn't played since Nov. 7.

Game time 7:00pm PT

[Hyack]

Boeser opens the scoring at 11:44 of the first his 7th, assists to Baertschi and Horvat. The Blues Parayko ties it up with 1:26 left in the period.

[Hyack]

Granlund scores his 3rd of the season with a SH goal 5:23 into the 2nd period, followed by a PP goal by Baertschi at 10:58, his 7th this year. The Blues come back with a goal by Sobotka at 13:10 in, leaving the Canucks with a 3-2 lead going into the 3rd.

[Hyack]

Edmunston scores for the Blues at 4:46 to tie the game. The Canucks were held without a shot recorded until 11:03 into the period. OT coming up....

[Hyack]

The Blues win it at 2:41 into the OT period with a goal by Schenn, 4-3 St Louis. The Canucks now start a 6 game road trip Tuesday when the visit Philadelphia to face the Flyers, followed with a game in Pittsburgh the next day.

[Hyack]

Vancouver at Philadelphia

21

CANUCKS (9-8-3) at FLYERS (8-8-4)

The Philadelphia Flyers finish a stretch of 10 straight games against Western Conference opponents when they play the Vancouver Canucks at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday.

The Flyers have lost a season-high four straight games (0-2-2) while falling into last place in the Metropolitan Division.

Goalie Michal Neuvirth will start for the Flyers in the first of a back-to-back set. It will be Neuvirth's first appearance since a 5-4 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 4.

Goalie Jacob Markstrom starts the opener of a six-game trip for the Canucks, who also play the first of a back to back. Vancouver is 6-3-0 on the road compared to 3-5-3 at home.

Canucks forward Sam Gagner has six points (two goals, four assists) in 20 games. He had 50 points (18 goals, 32 assists) in 81 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season.

Forward Sean Couturier has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in his past 12 games and is part of a first line that has totaled 26 of the Flyers' 56 goals.

The Canucks released forward Anton Rodin and recalled Holm from Utica of the American Hockey League on Monday. … Weal is set to return from a one-game absence (upper body). … Gudas is serving a 10-game suspension for a slash to the head of Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault on Thursday.

Horvat has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past eight games. … Giroux has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his past 10 games.

Game time 4:00pm PT

[Strutz]

Awesome game tonight by our guys!

A good way to start a road trip.

[Hyack]

Vancouver at Pittsburgh

22

CANUCKS (10-8-3) at PENGUINS (11-8-3)

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without forward Evgeni Malkin when they host the Vancouver Canucks at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday.

Malkin, second on Pittsburgh in scoring with 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists), sustained an upper-body injury in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. He will be re-evaluated Thursday before it's determined if he can play at the Boston Bruins on Friday or against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, coach Mike Sullivan said.

The Penguins are 4-5-2 in their past 11 games after beginning the season 7-3-1.

Canucks forward Derek Dorsett will not play; he returned to Vancouver on Tuesday for precautionary medical reasons stemming from neck and back stiffness. Dorsett missed 68 games last season after undergoing cervical fusion surgery on Dec. 5, 2016. Vancouver is 2-3-1 in its past six games but is coming off a 5-2 win at the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

Canucks forward Brock Boeser scored two goals on Tuesday and has five points (four goals, one assist) in a four-game point streak. He had four points (three goals, one assist) in a 4-2 win against the Penguins on Nov. 4.

Penguins forward Phil Kessel has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past seven games.

Stecher is expected to return sometime during Vancouver's six-game road trip. … Rowney will be a game-time decision after missing the past 13 games with a fractured hand.

The Canucks are 6-3-1 against Eastern Conference teams this season, but are 1-4-0 in their past five games against the Penguins. … Pittsburgh has won four straight games played the day before Thanksgiving, with three of the four victories coming in overtime or a shootout.

Game time 4:00pm PT